Mothers Nest
by charliedee
Summary: Mothers Nest, a dingy, creaky, and downright horrid place to live becomes the only place left for the orphan Sasuke Uchiha. Upon arrival he meets a certain blonde orphan who had become a veteran to the constant tortures the children were subjected to. Will Sasuke and Naruto survive this horror house? T for language, torture, and death.
1. Chapter 1

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 1. Welcome To Mothers Nest_

* * *

Summary: Mothers Nest, a dingy, creaky, and downright horrid place to live becomes the only place left for the orphan Sasuke Uchiha. Upon arrival he meets a certain blonde orphan who had become a veteran to the constant tortures the children were subjected to. Will Sasuke and Naruto survive this horror house?

* * *

"They're all dead, Hiro - there's no point in asking for emergency contacts." A drawled out voice sounded through the dark void that consumed Konoha in the night time followed by a rhythmic tapping of a pen against the wooden clipboard. The ground crunched beneath the pair of feet as they rounded the barely lit corner. "Stupid girl.." The distant sound of the nurse's shoes clicked against the dirt road softly as she rushed back to whatever she was doing before she confronted the obviously busy doctor until they no longer bounced off the walls around him. _Now, where was I_? He whirled around on his heels from the street he stood in, police tape decorating the neighborhood, and spotted the thing he was trying to find in the first place.

He was slow and silent as he approached the small figure that sat against a terribly lit wall at the end of the block, it was_ him, _the orphan he was now in charge of. Readying his pen within his slender fingers the doctor had risen a brow curiously, his slits for eyes studiously watching the boy. _Slouched... _He scrawled on his perfectly lined paper that was in front of him, jotting down every single little thing that piqued his interest. _Unwilling to speak to police which is quite peculiar_. He kept scribbling, after all, it was what he was best at - analyzing and sorting through different emotional states. _Will most likely fall into a never ending depression and turn his back against anyone who helps. Hm_. He nodded to himself before patting the clipboard to his white lab coat absentmindedly, stepping in front of the boy who's eyes were dead set ahead. "Sasuke Uchiha?" He never received an answer and that was just something that rubbed him the wrong way in most of his cases. That - and he didn't like children, especially depressing children. He often questioned his line of work.

After he waited for a response and never getting one, the doctor cleared his throat to grab the attention of Sasuke. "My name is Doctor Anzai and I was specially assigned to your case. You see, I'm the leading physician at Mothers Nest, a famous name around here in Konoha and one of the biggest orphanages in all the lands." He inwardly grimaced when the sullen onyx eyes peered up to him almost in disbelief. "I've been instructed to assess your mental health and to determine whether or not you'll receive treatment at Mothers Nest."

"I don't want to go to an orphanage." Sasuke scowled up at the man with the most hateful look he could muster - why was he being bothered at such a trying time?! With his tiny balled up fists, he gripped his pant leg furiously, all he wanted were his mother and father. His scowl deepened - not Itachi.

The doctor's face was hard and stern, not looking like he cared about this young boy, even though he had lived through one of the village's largest massacre's. "Legally you must be placed into the orphanage, we cannot just simply have an.." He silently read through his paper quickly. "...eight year old child living on their own, now could we? This is why orphanages were made, and besides, you wont be alone in Mothers Nest. I'm sure you will do just fine." _Oh how I hate the stubborn ones_.

He connected his blue ink pen to his lined paper and stared down at the boy with a grimace begging to be let out, continuously trying to pull his lips into a curved grin. He needed to act professional because the Hokage already had his disbelief's about his upfront method of work. _Failure to comply right away… Interesting. _He scribbled down his chicken scratch before peering over the top of the paper to the young boy. "Well, for now you may continue to squander here on the filthy street, in a few minutes social workers will come down to speak with you. I don't recommend you resist their help, or you will face the consequences, those being solitary confinement once you're placed into the hall."

Turning sleekly on his heels, Anzai let himself have a treat, grinning almost ear to ear as his long slender legs took him down the abandoned road. _An Uchiha, this will most certainly be interesting_. As he turned the corner he spotted the pair of social workers and Mothers Nest's executive speaking silently to each other, all with papers and formal documents clutched in their fingers. As he walked underneath the moonlit road the three turned to face him, their stony expressions were what he was so used to. Using his index finger to push his glasses up his nose, Anzai's beady black eyes narrowed. "I've come to the conclusion of whether or not the boy will receive treatment from myself and the newly appointed psychiatrist, Soma." He looked down at the lack inked words he wrote whilst walking away from the boy, some details of the many he had made up - he wanted someone new to test his works of brilliance on. "Uchiha Sasuke, witnessed the murders of his parents from his own brother Itachi. From the experience I have come to the conclusion that Sasuke will go through Clinical Depression, Anxiety Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which could very well lead to Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder. Once Sasuke has settled into Mothers Nest, we'll have Soma begin thorough and excessive therapy, and once she prescribes him the appropriate medication I'll begin my work. I hope you two are satisfied with the plan, after all, I can bet that the Hokage has instructed you two to keep an eye on me." He grimaced.

"That will be all, Anzai. We will see you at Mothers Nest soon enough." The woman spoke with a strict monotone voice that didn't seem to fit her character. Her male counterpart nodded and the two of them turned away, leaving Anzai by himself underneath the streetlight.

Sasuke's ears perked up when two pairs of feet approached his location. He looked up and noticed two new people making their way toward him, presumably the social workers Anzai had mentioned earlier. His face turned bitter and moved it so he was looking the opposite direction. He had only found his parents, slashed across their chests a few hours ago by the hand of Itachi, and yet these people wouldn't let him have peace! First the ANBU want to question him about Itachi's possible motives, then the police want details from him, Anzai prods him about this orphanage he is being forced to, and now these social workers that were actually going to take him away! "Can't I have a few more minutes?"

The woman shook her head. "It's cold out Sasuke, we must escort you to the hall."

Sasuke peered up into their faces that looked as if they were chipped away from marble. Unchanging, serious, lacking any sort of emotion. He remembered the threat Anzai gave him and slowly made his way to his feet and rubbed his arms - she was right, it was cold out. "Can we get my things from my home?"

She shook her head once more. "We will have someone pick them up for you and have them delivered by the morning time." Her and the man turned around with a certain sophisticated elegance to them and began walking down the barely lit street. "This way then, Sasuke."

It was freezing out, the boy had to admit, as he hesitantly rubbed his upper arms with his palms, not wanting to show any signs of weakness to these people whatsoever. He believed if he showed signs that he could be independent they would perhaps let him remain within the city in his own apartment - not in a dreaded orphanage with other children. Chills ran through his legs and out through every nerve that lined within him, his teeth began to chatter, his fingers and nose and ears all began to grow cherry red and lose complete feeling - where the hell was this place? "How much longer until we're there?" He stuttered through his chapped lips and visibly chattering teeth, his cold black eyes darting up to meet the side of the mans face which did not turn to glance at him.

"Out - within the dense trees. Mothers nest was built outside the cities boundaries so if a large attack was focused on Konoha we would be remotely safe - and because privacy is quite a wonderful thing."

Sasuke scoffed inwardly - they had only just reached the main gate of Konoha, and they _still_ had to travel into the forest? This was turning out to be so much more of a hassle than he originally thought. Pulling on his large black collar and stuffing his frozen nose into the cotton fabric. It smelled of home. Home, where his sweet mother and strong father would be if his brother had not killed them.. He shook his head, buried his face further into his shirt and trudged on alongside the two social workers.

"Do you see it. Along the tree line, the roof of the hall, Sasuke. We are almost there." The woman called out with almost a tone that showed emotion, and an almost curl of his thin lips. "Mind the ground, the road leading to the hall is being redone. For now we will go through the forest."

Great, he thought to himself, even more work in the cold. Sasuke sighed audibly and carefully picked up his legs over the large roots that curled up into the air and around all the different bushes around them. Trees were snapped in half and blocked most of the pathways there, so they had to duck underneath them whilst being careful of the ground beneath them. _If only I had my chakra under control we could be jumping through the trees and already be in the warmth_. He felt a thorn from a bush slide across the skin of his knees, and surprisingly, the warmth of the small trickle of blood gave him all the more energy to get the hell to that hall.

"Here we are - _Mothers Nest._" The woman opened up her suit clad arms to present the large almost mansion like orphanage that would soon become his new home. There were at least four stories to this manor, not including the probably basement that lied underneath this monster of a house. The windows were stained grey with dust that had collected over the years, Sasuke thought perhaps it was just a bad time in the year for this sort of thing. Then he noticed how some of the windows even donned cracks, some were broken completely, letting the frosty air run through whoever's room that was. He clutched his shirt tightly. It was made of a dark brown brick with a red long and pointy shingled roof. The grass here was even dead, dead and yellowed, trampled on. This area showed no signs of life. Sasuke shuddered.

They climbed the almost twenty step stairs that led up to the over sized doors. They weren't inviting like his own home's doors. You couldn't see through the medium sized windows on the doors, it almost looked as if they were card-boarded up to dim the hopes of people that wanted to look inside. The female social worker knocked on the doors with her petite looking hands._ Knock knock knock_. Silence enveloped the three. The young boy shifted his weight from one leg to the other to keep whatever kind of energy in his body to preserve heat. Footsteps sounded quickly and three sounds of locks being unlocked were heard until the door swung halfway quickly, and a young woman's face peered out.

"Now now hurry in, we need to preserve heat inside." She whispered quietly and side stepped to let the three usher inside the manor. A slight warmth hugged him, but it wasn't much warmer than it was outside. "So you're the new addition to Mothers Nest, welcome." She smiled daintily before turning her face towards the large skylight of the main room. The room was circular and went up all the four stories, a wooden staircase lined the long walls upwards and some little faces peered over railings until yells of anger sounded from behind them and they ran. Sasuke frowned and glanced at the socials workers. They didn't once look at him before they bid their farewells to the woman and closed the large doors behind them.

_Dammit_. He looked back at the small woman who wore a large white coif that framed her small round face. As she bent down to get a better look at Sasuke her wooden rosary hung down in front of his face, the small cross right between his eyes. "Well let's get going, it's passed bedtime and I need to get you to your room, Uchiha." He never would have thought that such a nice looking woman would speak in such a tone. He followed her hesitantly. "This is the man staircase in which you need permission to use." She tittered to herself silently. "If we let all the children run around freely, could you image how hard it would be to gather them all up? This is the third floor, where you are stationed. Boys dormitory _7-12_ is where you will be." There was a large painted sign above their heads that indicated where he would stay. "The girls dorm is right across from us If any boys are caught in the girls dormitory or vice versa you will be punished."

Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't planning on staying for that long anyways, so he didn't plan on needing to know the rules around this dump, and why was it so cold? He followed her through the heavy wooden doors to the boys dormitory. "On each door you'll see the names of each child that lives in there. Each room is only meant for one person except for special cases like siblings. Rules to the dorms, let's see here. Bedtime is nine o' clock for your age group, and you can't have any one in your room passed eight thirty. No food in your rooms, it will remain within the cafeteria. Rooms must be kept tidy at all times. There will be random room checks to make sure you don't have any unauthorized things hidden around. Uchiha, Uchiha, Uchiha.." She tapped her long nails against a door to her right and stared at the boy with unnerving blue eyes. "This is your room. Unfortunately your clothing items don't regulate with our code, so you will be dressed accordingly. Your new clothes are inside on the top drawer of your dresser. Make sure you get some shut eye because tomorrow I will be showing you the rest of the manor. Goodnight." She opened the immensely heavy doors and ushered him in, slamming the door behind him with a roar and everything went quiet.

He stared at the door, the cold grey metal door that separated him from the rest of the horrid looking manor. How could the Hokage allow such a place? And for children no less. Sasuke licked his lips and slowly turned to look at the room he was stationed in. The walls were a grey glazed brick that kept the cold within. There was a window high above the bed, a window that wasn't cracked or broken through completely, yet it was so dirty he couldn't even see the starry night outside. The bed was a twin size with a mangy looking grey sheet that barely fitted to the paper thin mattress, and a scruffy looking black woolen blanket that Sasuke hoped would keep him warm through the night. Beside the bed was a night table lacking a drawer and had a simple dusty lamp that didn't even have a plug. He paced over and picked it up from the table, inspecting it slowly. _The cord is cut, what's the use of even putting it in here_? Sasuke scowled and set it down, turning towards the small dresser on the wall beside him. He curled his fingers around the small handle and pulled it open, revealing the shirt and paints provided to him. He picked up the shirt. It was a grey button up t-shirt. He let it slid from his fingers and picked up the pants. Dark blue cotton-esque fabric with no pull strings around the waist. _They will be warmer than my shorts_.. He thought to himself and quickly changed into the pants but remained in his own shirt.

He crossed his arms over his chest and turned on his heels, looking around his room again with a sour face. _It doesn't matter - I just have to show them I can live properly by myself and I can leave this place_. He nodded to himself before he kicked his shoes underneath the bed and crawled atop the covers, and immediately noticed how awful this bed was. _It's alright_. He picked up the woolen blanket and pulled it over his shoulders, snuggling his nose into the wool and letting his eyes flutter shut._ I'll get out of here soon enough._

* * *

_Welp, this is super old. I'm just uploading lots of old things I have that I've been saving in my computer. _

_Info: This is NOT A YAOI between Sasuke and Naruto. Friendship guys, frieennddshiippp._

_Review if you liked and want me to continue :) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_


	2. Chapter 2

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 2. First Day is a No-Go_

* * *

It was startling to wake up to an unfamiliar surroundings, especially when you totally forgot the incident that only happened the night before. First Sasuke's eyes had hazily peeled open because his brain had tricked him into thinking he smelled the great smell of his mothers cooking wafting in from the kitchen down the hall, but when his eyes met the dull grey polished brick wall memories flooded in. His whole clan were dead and he was paraded to this hellhole. He curled his fingers around the not so warm woolen blanket and sat up. It was still chilly in his room, he noted, as he threw his legs over the side of his bed and placed them against the stained white tile floor which was also very cold.

Knock knock knock. Three knocks echoed through the room as the metal was beat down upon by somebody outside, rattling through his still half asleep brain. "Breakfast time, get up - Naruto!" The woman he had met last night's voice rose to a pitch he had not known existed as her footsteps raced the hallway as giggles erupted. Sasuke frowned, he didn't care, he needed to get out. He'd need to abide by their rules. Opening the first drawer of his dresser, he pulled out the grey button up shirt rather reluctantly and with a small inspection, he deemed it worthy to wear. He held the soft fabric of his own black long sleeved shirt within his fingers, gazing down upon the Uchiha crest sullenly. "Breakfast!" The woman shouted once more and Sasuke hurriedly punched his arms through the sleeves of the grey shirt and buttoned it up as best he could before pulling his door open.

That was his first time he got to see the others boys in his dormitory. They all stood lined up behind the woman with their hands clasped around their mouths, masking their giggles that begged to come out. Sasuke looked to his left and noticed the woman was scolding a blonde boy rather harshly, smacking the top of his head with the palm of her hand. "How many times do we have to tell you Naruto?! After breakfast you're going to solitary confinement young man! Off you go!" She pointed to the doors with her semi sausage like fingers and turned towards the children and the walls, which Sasuke just noticed the scribbles of different colors all over the walls. "How will we get this off?!" Groaning, she smacked her forehead with the back of her hand before making her way towards the door herself.

As the other boys filed out of the hallway Sasuke paced of to the wall and rubbed his index finger along the color. _It's just chalk, what is she freaking out about_? He shrugged it off, nonetheless. He made his way down the hallway and as he did he looked into the different room, all had different things they got to keep. Some had toys, some had special blankets or pillows, or even stuffed animals. Across the circular staircase he saw the girls filing out from their 7-12 dormitories, all were dressed in light pink dresses that had short sleeves and reached down to just below their knees and white slip on sandals. Placing his hand on the rough wooden railing, Sasuke slowly made his way down the spiral staircase until they hit the first floor and hesitantly followed along the other children who all knew what they were doing.

"What's your name?" A boy with messy brown hair peered up at him with curious blue eyes. He didn't look very healthy, Sasuke noted. The boy had purple bags under his eyes and was extremely thin. Sasuke could only hope it was because the boy was ill, not because Sasuke ill wished it on him, but because if it were because of this place Sasuke was in for a treat.

"Sasuke." He told the boy that was from his dorm as they entered the 'cafeteria.' There was the dim sound of children chattering to each other that filled the musky dust ridden air of the cafe and an overall gloomy aura that hung around their heads knowing that the nuns were slowly making their rounds down the aisles of tables. They had before them perfectly straight, aligned metal trays that housed the clumps of God knows what kind of food that the women working in the cafe served. As Sasuke followed along with the other boys of his dorm he eyed the food suspiciously - it was nothing like what his mother would make. These were just little lumps of barely edible jelly looking stuff. He was being a 'good boy' so Sasuke held back the retch that begged to let through.

"Line up single file for your food, you know the drill." A woman with a perfectly white coif announced as she slapped a ruler against the palm of her wrinkled hand, her eyes narrow and evil looking. She glanced to Sasuke. "Every Monday is mystery meat, Uchiha." He scowled and got into the single file line and ended up right behind the trouble maker - exactly where he didn't want to be.

The blonde looked over his shoulder and eyed Sasuke up and down for a moment before fully turning around. "Uchiha? Your whole clan lives in Konoha, why're you here?" Naruto questioned, placing his hands on his hips while a single blonde brow raised.

Sasuke was about to get angry - the massacre must have been the grande news of the town by now, wouldn't it? It was then he realized that this hall was out in the middle of the forest with strict nuns running the place, information most likely did not reach here very quick. "They were murdered last night." He announced in a hushed tone that was barely audible and tried to keep his face completely calm, after all, there was a nun right behind him and he didn't want to show weakness, no matter how much he hurt.

The boy's mouth formed an 'o' and smacked his hands against his tan cheeks that had three lines on each. "Murdered?! By who?" In a not so hushed tone, Naruto gasped the words that almost echoed through the cafeteria walls, heads poking up curiously and the lunch ladies looking up suspiciously. "All of them? A whoole clan?!" The next thing Naruto knew was that the young Uchiha's hand was clasped on his mouth firmly - he looked angry.

"Shh!" Sasuke hissed as they both took a few steps forward in the lunch line. "I don't want anyone knowing."

"Naruto, mind your voice!" The woman watching the line eyeballed him angrily with a turned up nose. "Or we'll lengthen your solitary confinement."

"Yeah yeah grandma I got it, jeez." Naruto roughly took a tray from the stack and almost slammed it down onto the counter, where the lunch lady frowned down upon him and smacked a lump of jelly onto it. "This is the worst mystery meat, even IF I've never had any other kind." He scowled right back at her before Sasuke gently placed his tray down and looked at the woman with a stoic expression. _Just give me my food_.. Her evil face didn't drop as she scowled at the raven haired boy and slapped food onto his tray as well.

He sullenly followed Naruto to a long table that had a good handful of the _7-12_ boys dorm sitting at him, seeming to all have a good time with each other while food flung from one to the other. Naruto dropped his tray down onto the table and took a seat, tapping his fingers beside him where Sasuke would sit. Once he sat down, the blonde looked at him with utter seriousness. "So, murdered by who? Come on, you have to give us the details, we get nothing here!"

"It's nothing I want to talk about." Sasuke announced to him quietly with a scowl before he poked and prodded the food around his tray lazily, trying to make it seem that he was actually eating this stuff. He was going to get out of here in no time, so there was no use in eating their horrific food. A series of 'awws' followed after then silence, an awkward silence. They all ate in silence after that. Sasuke placed his fork down onto the tray and leaned back against his chair, gazing around the room, inspecting it. The walls were stained a yellow-ish grey color with cobwebs that hung overhead in the hundreds. The tiles of the ceiling were decayed, peeling off and falling down onto the floor. It was disgusting how people would eat in such an environment.

"Naruto, time's up for you! Get moving!" A woman marched over and pulled on him by the grey collar of his button up shirt and threw him towards the exit doors, slapping her hands together as he failed to get up right away. He grumbled a series of curses before marching out of the room with all the pride and dignity he could muster.

Once Sasuke was let out he would tell the Hokage of all these horrendous things going on here. He glanced back at his tray and his obsidian eyes caught these chocolate brown eyes that stared at him. "How long has Naruto been here?" Sasuke asked with a slight tilt of his head, he began to worry about his plan to leave as quickly as he wanted.

"He was here even before I was taken here. The older boys say he came here when he was a baby." The little boy took a mouthful of grey jelly and swallowed it whole, pushing his tray to the middle of the table. "They always pick on him and choose him first for treatments."

Sasuke's brows furrowed and he bit his lips. How could someone be here that long? Wouldn't he be adopted by now? He was in the same dorm as him, so he must be in the 7-12 age range.. That was far too long to be locked up in this place. Sasuke slapped his hands down onto the table and slid out from it and began to walk over to the garbage place in the center of the room. He held the tray vertical to the garbage and place the edge of his fork to the steel tray and slid it down - the food slowly rolled down the side until it cascaded down into the black abyss of the garbage. When it hit the plastic of the bag that lined the garbage, it made a loud crumpling sound that alerted almost every adult within the vicinity. He stood completely still, frozen as if all the eyes that stared at him were icy cold, which they were, at least coming from the nuns. He cursed himself inwardly before he slowly paced over to a counter top adjacent to the garbage and placed his tray down along with the others, noting how all the children looked away shyly, almost nervously.

"Here at Mothers Nest we do not throw away food. You need all the nutrition you can get for afternoon training, Uchiha." A woman placed her hand down on his shoulder with care but in a split second she dug her long white nails into his skin beneath his shirt. "Oh that's right, you'll be missing afternoon training because you have a meeting with Doctor Soma. Still, you eat _everything_ on your plate."

He roughly jerked his shoulder away from her and glared at her with furious looking eyes, his left hand holding his shoulder gently. _I'll make sure to throw my food away someplace else next time_, he thought to himself before a group of children were ushered out of the cafeteria and towards the common room. The doors swayed open to reveal another gut-wrenching room that was lined with battered couches and beaten wooden end tables that held fake floral in fake plastic vases. They all raced happily to their favorite couches to sit beside all their favorite friends to play with old broken toys in Tupperware bins in the corner of the rooms, while Sasuke was left in the entry way in complete and utter horror.

He told himself it was alright, and to just go sit at the dark brown couch in the corner that had a window view. Slowly he walked over to the sunk in couch that was stained with who knows what, it even had a rusty spring sticking out from the cushion next to where he was going to sit. He better make sure there was no hidden spring where he was going to sit. _No springs_. He concluded to himself after he patted down the area with his hands and carefully took a seat, although he already knew it was alright to sit down. Leaning over to the window, he narrowed his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of the outside world but to no prevail. The window was so caked with dust and dirt he couldn't see a single thing. He idly twiddled his fingers as he watched the other children play across the room. Most were circled around a large circular wooden table in between three couches over near the opposite exit, playing with old tattered playing cards they fished out of the bins with their short little arms. He scanned over the nun that stood outside the exit, staring into the common room with snake like eyes, her arms crossed behind her back formally, about to snap at any child that dare break the rules.

He shuddered and looked across from his couch to the one across the room from him and one person in particular stood out. She was apart from the other girls around her age that Sasuke knew of, since he saw her leaving the girls 7-12 dorm. She sat silently at the faded pink corduroy couch shoved in the corning of the room, using the light that managed to seep through the dirty window to aid her reading of a book in her hand. He noticed how they were the only two that didn't give in to the temptations of the bin of old toys the other children rummaged through - maybe they were the only two that were skeptical about this place.

The doors beside his couch swung open to reveal a male nurse wearing his white scrubs walk in elegantly with a large silver platter held out in front of him. A nun rushed to his side with a large smile. "Alright everyone, it's time for shots! The flu is running rampant through the city and we would hate if you little darlings would get sick." She snickered and motioned they come towards her. "Single file line everyone!" Grumbles up roared among the children who all scrambled to their feet and dragged their feet towards the nurse and nun, their heads held low. Sasuke pushed himself deeper into the couch and hoped they wouldn't notice.

Tears were shed in the following ten minutes after the first shot was poked into the fleshy arm of a child. Cheeks were blotchy red, tear stained, shirts had black droplets of wet tears, noses were running, and small squeals of pain were heard through the symphony of sniffles. Once they all shuffled back around their couches, the nun and nurse both cleared their throats at the same time.

"It seems we have two children who believe they do not need their shots.." She spoke harshly, slapping the ruler against her calloused hands. "This flu shot session, little do you two children know, we had a piece of paper with names, and we checked off those children who did not come up. I will give you three seconds to get here for your shot, or we will come to you.." Sasuke gulped and prayed that they accidentally checked off his name since he wasn't too keen on getting a shot - he got one in the springtime so he didn't think he needed one. "One. She craned her head around the room like a vulture. "Two..." He sucked in a deep breath. "Aaand three. Uchiha Sasuke, Shima Maiko. Come here now."

He could physically feel the blood drain from his face when he heard his name echo through the room and all eyes stared at him yet again. His arms and legs stiffened like boards once he stood up to his feet, followed by an electrical current jolting through him. He didn't quite like the look of those needles. The nun held the needle in her slender fingers, her thumb on it's respectful place on the thumb rest and her index and middle finger on the flanges, pulling her fingers down so a little spritz of liquid sprang out._ Get it over with, you want to go home, don't you_?

The girls that sat across from him took to her feet and made her way over beside him and in front of the nun and nurse. "Miss Maiko, this isn't the first time you've neglected to take your medications, isn't that right?" The woman grabbed her wrist and yanked it toward her. "Don't you ever learn your lessons?"

Maiko turned her face and stared at Sasuke with a very serious face, her green eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed. "It's tranquilizer, how else would they get us to calm down? No one in their right minds can sleep in those beds night after night." Her mouth tightened into a straight line as the nun stuck the needle into her arm quite forcefully. Once she was done and over with, Maiko recoiled her arm protectively and slid back to the couch where Sasuke was sitting.

"Don't mind her, Uchiha, she's quite the rebellious one... Here we go.. And there we have it. You're finished." She smiled gently to him. "See, it wasn't that hard."

Sasuke still recoiled his arm but gave her a half nod before turning back towards the couch he called his own. "Some of the kids have to take pills in the evening to help their mental states and to help them sleep better." Maiko started as she crossed her legs onto the couch while Sasuke sat on the other side of the spring. "They don't do anything so don't take them. If they really force you to take the pills hide them somewhere in your mouth. They'll make you open your mouth and show all around so all you'll have to do is hide it between your back teeth and your cheeks." She told him in an almost matter-of-factly tone. "I heard you have a meeting with our new psychiatrist later. I haven't met her yet, but our old was was absolutely awful - just don't try and cause trouble with her."

Sasuke nodded along, trying to take it all in while she whispered to him in a secretive tone. "I'm trying to get out of this place." He told her in an equally hushed secret tone, leaning over towards her.

Maiko shrugged and looking down, playing with her white sandals. "I'm just saying, no one leaves. People _do_ need to adopt children, but so far no children have been adopted here so far. The only way out is if you die, escape, though you're still legally tied here, or you turn sixteen which is the legal age to be under your own care."

"What?!"_ Dammit_! "Even if I convince them I can live on my own?"

She shook her head. "No, that wont work on these people. They're truly evil. They do unspeakable things to us older kids, Naruto bears the grunt of it all. They always use him as a test subject, and we can't say anything about it or we'll be next." She pursed her lips angrily and sat back against the couch, crossing her arms over her chest silently. "I've only been here for a few years, but these few years have been the worst."

"What have they been doing to you" His voice wavered with traces of fear and curiosity, his fingers digging into the fabric of the couch nervously. He felt chills run down his spine when he took a good look at the girl in front of him - bruises were randomly placed all down her arms, small dark purple circles were laid upon the flesh above thin blue veins that ran underneath - needles, and by the looks of it, a lot. The room became chilling cold.

"We're in a time where we need quick ways to make medicine on the field of battle, all doctors in the lands are trying their hands at it, wanting the recognition it would bring them. Anzai is always scheming in his laboratory with poor Naruto in tow." She turned to look at him with deeply saddened eyes. "I heard Anzai assigned himself to asses you himself, I wouldn't be shocked if you're in there once Soma is done with you."

The icy air Sasuke breathed in a moment ago was now hitched in his throat. Shock rattled through his bones and now he feared the worst. "I'm not trying to scare you Uchiha, but this place is truly hell."

"Training will commence in ten minutes! Get yourselves outside before the bell rings." Sasuke winced. _I'm not training today - I'm with Soma._

Maiko took to her feet and looked at him once more before she followed along with the other children who exited through the opposite doors, all with smiles on their faces because apparently training was 'the best part of the day.' Like Maiko had said earlier, their last psychiatrist was awful, that could only mean this one was equally as awful. Out of the corner of his eye a nun waved her small hand towards Sasuke, cooing his name like his mother would. He felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck and his heart pound against his ribs when he stood up. These were nuns, he could overpower them someday - and when he would, he would escape back to the city to train and train so he could defeat his brother. He repeated that process in his head until he reached the woman.

"Soma awaits you." Her left arm spread out like an eagles wing to usher the boy through the door and back to the circular foyer. Outside he could hear children laughing, while he was stuck in here, by himself with the evil nuns. "Fourth floor." Her voice rang out from behind him and Sasuke trudged up the stairs until he could not anymore. He looked back to the woman that stood behind him with almost pleading eyes before she pressed her hands to his back and gently prodded him towards the large wooden door. "Hurry it up." She whispered in a bullying tone and pushed him until he was standing before the door.

What was behind that door? Sasuke gulped thickly and he felt a headache starting in the back of his mind. **DR. E. SOMA. **Was written in bold font on the window of the door, flashing in black and white in his head, carving it's way into every crevice of his mind. _Dr. E. Soma. Dr. E. Soma_. The woman behind him reached over and wrapped his wrinkled hand around the brass knob, the door slowly creaked open to reveal..

* * *

_Welp, thanks for the reviews that came pretty quick! I love reviews, and it lets me know you guys are satisfied with what's going on so far, so keep them coming! :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

_PS. This story does get a little dark and depressing later on, just a forewarning to people that are sensitive to the said warnings in the summary. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 3. Notebooks_

Her most prominent feature was those sleek glasses that sat upon her long and thin nose. Gentle looking brown eyes stared at him from behind the small square of glass and a smile decorated her shell pink lips. "Sasuke Uchiha? Welcome, I'm Doctor Soma." Her black hair was tied up in a tight bun on the very top of her head, not a hair was out of place. "Please have a seat."

Was she someone to be afraid of? He played the question in his mind before he took a few hesitant steps toward the blue chair that faced her and her large dark wood desk. He took a seat and looked over the things that were on her desk. A few simple documents that were halfway out of a small beige folder, a hole-puncher, a long sleek black mug looking thing that held about ten pre-sharpened pencils and three pens. He looked back up to her face and tried to study it but immediately felt embarrassed by doing so.

She smiled to the nun that was behind Sasuke and he heard the door shut gently, then her footsteps leaving the immediate vicinity. "Sasuke, how are you? This must be tough - losing your entire clan then having to live somewhere new and totally different than what you're used to."

_Remember the plan_. "It's awful here.. It's very different than what I'm used to, but.. I don't think I need to be babied here. My parents taught me how to be independent from when I was younger.." He watched as she raised a perfect brow. "I don't think this is the place for me - there are probably many more kids that need my room more than me!"

She nodded along to his words. "Sasuke, let's start somewhere simple. When the massacre happened, what was going through your head? I just want to know where your head is at right now, since I was hired to be here for just that reason."

He thought it over for a second. Would it really be that bad to get these things off his chest. "I was coming back from a late academy day, it was so late that it was already dark out.. I noticed there was nobody around in the streets and the lights were all out in the houses... I turned down a street and I saw my Auntie and Uncle dead at the doorway of their shop. I was immediately worried for my parents and.. Itachi." He drew a deep breath and tightened his fists. "I ran back home and my parents were dead in front of me, their blood was everywhere. And Itachi was right behind them with their blood on his blade. He killed them.. He killed our parents.." He felt his eyes sting and they grew wet, his breath being swallowed whole, his lungs begging for air, but he knew if he opened his mouth for air he would cry.

She nodded to him, allowing him to show such feelings in front of her. Sasuke furiously wiped the wetness from his eyes, his cheeks growing a tint of red with embarrassment. "I was worried for him the most - and he was the one that did it!"

"How do you feel about Itachi now? When you think of his name, what feelings come forth?" She rolled her pencil through her fingers, ready to scratch words down on her perfectly lined white paper before her. She was raked with guilt for this poor boy - she wanted just to coddle him up in her arms and tell him it would be alright, after all, he was just an eight year old boy. Such a young age to lose innocence.

"I hate him. I hate him more than anything in the world." He scowled furiously, wrinkles of pain and anger marking his ivory skin. "I hate him more than these people at Mothers Nest."

She scrawled down words that made sense to her, but probably not to others. "You hate the people here? Why is that?" He shook his head at her request. "Why is it you're hesitant to tell me? There is something called doctor-patient confidentiality, your words are safe within this room."

"I haven't experienced it yet - but I heard that they use the kids for their experiments, like different medicines. I also know they're supposed to be strict but they're cruel to some of these kids. I think Anzai is on something."

Soma nodded with pursed lips, tapping the end of her pen onto her paper absentmindedly, her eyes glued to him. "Yes they're an odd bunch here, they've been very erm, nice to me. It seems almost like a facade to me, but what can I say. I've been here for only a few days, perhaps they just deal with children and adults differently here. But Sasuke, please tell me more if this mistreatment continues with the children because I could get them written up for it."

He dipped his head slightly, understanding that this woman was trying her best to make this awful situation a teensy bit better. "Sasuke?" Her gentle voice waved through the air and hit his ears. It was a pleasant voice to hear when the only voices you heard were the shrieking of the nuns and the wailing of upset children. He looked up just in time to watch her pull out two spiral notepads from her desk drawer and scrawl something on them. She pushed them in front of his face. One was red and had the words 'good' journal on it, while the other black journal had the words 'bad' journal. "I want you to use these notebooks when you're overcome by your feelings. In the 'bad' notebook, write down everything that makes you angry, depressed, confused. While this one you'll write what makes you happy, good memories with family, friends. It will help you express your feelings and when you're feeling down you can look into your good journal and see all the nice things you hold close. Does that sound alright?"

Sasuke reached over and gently grazed his fingers over the sleek covers of the journal, picking them both up between his fingers. With a slight nod, he opened up one of the journals and flipped through all the pages in a split second right before his eyes. "I'll talk to the orderlies to let you keep those with you." She turned her rolling chair around to face the large black and white clock that hung over her head. "I don't want you to miss too much of your afternoon training, so I'll let you go. I'll give you some time to fill out some of the journal before I see you again."

The corners of his lips just barely turned upwards as he nodded to her politely, then he began to take his leave back into the scary place he must call home for the time being. He liked her office. He liked Dr. Soma, she was kind to him. He clutched his notebooks close to his side as he raced down the stairs, even though he didn't get permission, and made his way to the back door, he needed to get as much training as he could. But just as he pressed his forearm to the door and let it swing open, the children were already in a single file line coming towards the door.

_Damn_. He snuffed quiet angrily, taking a step to the side to allow them entry. Tomorrow he would train, he would train until he passed out. He would train and show them how strong an Uchiha was - strong enough to not be in a place like this. Three loud claps echoed through his mind. "It's nap time before lunch!" With a slight groan Sasuke slapped his cheek with his hand. _And an Uchiha does not need a nap_.

"What if we aren't tired?" He questioned the nun who watched the children continue to march into the hall.

"No naps makes a child cranky, and we don't need that." Her voice was threatening. He'll make sure to add that into his journal when he got the chance. He followed along with the other children, up to the second story where his dorm was located. Perhaps he could immediately get started on his journal since he was actually looking forward to something to do rather than wasting away in this place.

The doors to the 7-12 dorm opened and the boys rushed inwards, the slapping of their little feet echoing off the walls and small giggles erupted like a symphony, all seeming to like nap time. Perhaps because it was the only time they were being watched by the hawks, Sasuke thought. Something caught his eye as he slowly paced through the narrow hallway with many doors carved out of it and he turned his head to see a mop of blonde pointy hair. Naruto. He thought as he inspected the scene before him. The boy lay lifeless in his bed but his icy piercing blue eyes were open and glazed over. His eyelids were swollen like he had been crying. His fingers were clutched around the worn white sheets over his mattress like he was holding on for dear life. And maybe he was. Sasuke's eyes fluttered closed and he rushed to his room and sat upon his bed.

The nun that supervised the boys dormitory made her rounds, making sure each boy was tucked into their bed and screeching at those who were not. Quickly he dove underneath the covers and forced his eyes closed until he heard the heavy metal door slammed closed and silence proceeded. He lips curled upwards in the dark underneath his cover, flinging it off his body and letting it fly to the cold floor. He sat cross-legged on his bed and pulled the red pen out of the coiled part of his notebook, his tongue slightly sticking out as he flipped the cover to the back, revealing a fresh page for him to start.

It was the bad notebook. He clicked the top of the pen and the little silver bud popped out. _Things I don't like_. _Mothers Nest. The orderlies. The rules. The food. The nuns. Medication_. He was now maliciously scrawling down the words in the bright red ink._** Itachi**. Murder. Social workers. Tests. Treatment_. Sasuke scowled and immediately closed the cover and threw it against his pillow, his eyes growing wet with each passing moment. He hated tears. He hated weakness. If he wasn't weak he'd have family that he could have protected and they'd be living._ Calm down._ With that warning, he rubbed the small droplets of liquid from his eyes and onto the scratchy blanket that covered his legs.

He grabbed the other notebook and stared at the blank page. He told himself to switch over to a different mood, to think of happy things although those were now a rare occurrence in his life. With the good notebook open, Sasuke's pen was put to good use. _Dr. E. Soma. Mother and Father, and Auntie and Uncle. His cousins. Training. Fathers praise. Mothers love and warmth_. It was not nearly as much as the bad notebook, but he called that a good start.

Sasuke opened up his side table and placed the notebook and pen within, closing it quietly before he cuddled back into his blankets with his nose poking out from the warmth. In minutes he was consumed by darkness.

_Sasuke... Sasuke.. Oh I thought you were stronger than this, little boy. Little Uchiha. You are hardly living up to your family name young man, what would your parents say? Oh they wouldn't say anything, because they were killed by your own brother. _

_Anzai paced in front of him with a dark face but a large bright white grin spread across his face. It was a rather evil looking smirk. He tried struggling but a rough fabric had him bound down to this metal slab where his bare skin was stuck on. Let me go! Sasuke slurred out but in his head he imagined it differently. Why was he talking like that? What did you do to me?! The man paced to his side, grabbing a bright light and flashing it into his eyes. It burned like hell, Sasuke writhed underneath it. _

_Where are those famous eyes of yours? Itachi had them at your age you know, but you haven't even shown signs of the Sharingan. That's a little disappointing, don't you think? Such a terrible thing. Though I want to keep playing with you. Perhaps I can make it show up. _

_Let me go! The words bounced off the bone in his skull as he continued to struggle underneath the the restraints. His whole body burned. Anzai placed a contraption into Sasuke's eyes to keep them open, causing a flood of immediate tears to flow forward. _

_I wonder if Uchiha's look the same as any other person on the inside..._

He sprung awake to the sound of heavy thudding upon his metal door at the foot of his bed. His back was soaked through with a chill sweat that collected over his noon time 'nap', lowering his body temperature down by a few degrees. His teeth chattered without showing signs of stopping even if Sasuke wrapped the woolen blanket around his shoulders tightly. Even if Anzai had not done those things to him, Sasuke was now more guarded than he had ever been. That was the worst dream he had ever had, a dark streak in his normally cheery dream record.

Beside the now unlocked metal door that separated him from the other boys was a small curved brass hook that held a black piece of fabric. It looked remotely comfortable and would aid him since he was so terribly cold. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed and slipping his feet into the black sandals that were waiting for him he strode over to the hook with the blanket that was still shrouded over him. He touched his fingers to the fabric, it felt like his own black shirt with his family crest imprinted upon it. It was just a plain black sweater made of cottony fabric, something he never thought he'd see in this hellhole. Shrugging off the blanket from his shoulders, he pulled the sweater on and noticed how good of a fit it was.

Poking his head out from his doorway, Sasuke noticed Naruto slowly stride out of his room looking more depressed than ever. Stepping out from his room, his pace quickened until he was side by side with the boy. "Naruto?" His voice was flat when he announced his name in a hushed tone while a single black brow raised. He wanted to know what they had done to him in solitary confinement so badly so he could tell Soma about it.

All Naruto had to do was turn his head over to face Sasuke and he could already see what they had done to him.

* * *

_Yeah it's been a little bit slow paced, but now that I've got the characters introduced I can get started with the events that will take place. REVIEW so I can continue! :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 4. Anzai_

* * *

The week that followed his upsetting arrival to Mothers Nest failed to get better for the Uchiha, unfortunately.

The only thing he could really look forward to was his second meeting with Dr. Soma. There was so much to tell her that happened within the first week! He hated to admit it to himself that he was excited to spill the metaphorical beans about the events that happened to him because they were pretty awful, but Soma could help him and the poor children he shared the orphanage with.

"Uchiha, you know the drill. You'll miss afternoon training again." An orderly announced with a skeptical face that Sasuke could only read as 'as if that dreaded Soma is doing any good.' He nodded off to the woman before he made his way to the large circular room and began to climb the stairs, the large circle skylight above let the grey sky's light shine down on his head and the light pitter patter of rain trickled down its sloped sides. He quite liked the rain. With his two notebooks clutched in his fingers and his other hand gripping the railing, he saw those mood lifting bold letters again. **DR. E. SOMA.**

He knocked twice because he hated the rhythmic knocking he woke up to from the nuns and orderlies usually twice a day. He felt jitters in his spine when she answered the door and ushered him to take a seat in front of her desk and offered him a small plastic cup of water from the water cooler in the corner. He took a small sip as she sat back down and looked at his face with a questionable glance.

"How are you Sasuke? I hope you've been using those notebooks." She stated with a casual smile, elegantly folding her arms over her slab of wood she called a desk. When he fanned out the two notebooks on his side of her desk she smiled and grazed her fingers along the smooth cover. "That's good. I don't expect to read it, I just wanted to make sure you were putting them to good use. It's been a week, have things been better with your living arrangements? I've met a few of the other children here and I have to say, most of the ones that were recommended to me don't even need to see me. Odd."

Sasuke nodded and took a sip of his ice cold drink. "Maiko told me she had her first meeting with you."

"Ah yes, Maiko. She's one of the ones who I don't believe need my help. She may just be a little too smart for her age and they're scared of it." She leaned in closer to Sasuke with a curious raised brow. "Now Sasuke - tell me, has there been any more mistreatment?"

He furiously nodded and carefully placed his cup down onto her desk. "Yes there has, Doctor Soma. Naruto - they seem to always take him away almost every day and when he gets back to our dorm or the common room, he's always bruised and depressed. He never tells me what they do to him, yet Maiko always seems to know what he's going through. And it's not just her - all of the kids understand him but I'm the only one who doesn't!"

The woman fell quiet, leaning back in her black soft rolling chair with her thumb in between her shell pink lips. She shook her head aimlessly and with that, the lenses of her glasses shimmered with light, covering her upset looking eyes. "I believe you, Sasuke, I just need to get solid evidence about this before I make my complaint to the executive or the Hokage."

"If you just saw a glimpse of Naruto you'd see what they're doing." He grumbled and also leaned back in her chair with folded arms, looking down at the worn out hardwood floors with angry eyes. He snatched his notebooks back and held them close. "Take him to the Hokage, get the Hokage here!"

"It's not that easy, Sasuke." She shook her head and straightened her posture. "Today is my deadline to give my report on you to Doctor Anzai. He's expecting a full report on all these mental illnesses I believe you have and what medicines I advise you to take. Even if this may or may not be true, Sasuke, I'm writing down all I believe you have is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It would make sense and he can't complain. I will write how I advise you to take prescribed anti-depressants. The prescribed ones, I will be sure, will be a mild type, so you wont feel sick. Is that alright with you?"

Sasuke let out a long sigh, never lifting his gaze off the floor. "I guess."

He heard the ruffling of her clothes and noticed that she leaned all the way over her desk, placing her warm hand over his. "Sasuke I want to help." She smiled gently and with a warm squeeze to his hand, she sat back down. "I'm going to write my report now so you can have time to train today. I hope to see you some more, Sasuke."

He nodded and stood up to make his way to the door. Training was always something he looked forward to.

Once he threw his notebooks into his room and raced outside, he spotted Maiko and a few other children around their age standing underneath a large withering willow tree, holding their arms over their heads to keep their heads dry. He didn't care about the raining conditions.

"Maiko." He exclaimed in a verily hushed ton once he made it to her side almost out of breath. "I talked with Doctor Soma today."

She smiled to him although her face before he came over looked as if she wanted to murder the nun that was trying her very hardest to teach an incompetent child who could not for the life of him do what she asked. "Did you tell her?" Her voice was rushed and there was a glimmer he never saw in her eyes before. It was refreshing to see hope in someone else's eyes.

"I did but she said she needed evidence before she said anything to someone about it!" The two were still very hushed about this topic, conniving little things.

Maiko let out a groan as she turned her face towards the sky, large droplets landing on her rosy cheeks and rolling down quickly. "If only she could see Naruto. If only anyone could see Naruto. We have to get her to see him, she'd still be in her office, right? Maybe if Naruto is in his dorm we could bring him up..."

"He wasn't there, I checked after I saw Soma"

She groaned again, absentmindedly shifting her weight from one foot to the next."I think I might have her later today, though I'm not sure. Maybe they'll have let him go by then." By that time the nun screamed their last times and they paid extra attention to her.

Their next meal came rolling around and a loud shriek that sounded oddly like Sasuke's last name rang throughout the heads of every child in the cafeteria. The voice became clearer. "Uchiha! You've got Anzai when you're finished."

The room fell silent and again, the blood rushed from his face and his fingers tingled. "A-Anzai..." He managed to choke out after a small bite of his stale bread, the hairs on the back of his neck stood completely upright. _No! It's too soon! I can't_! He looked up to meet the battered eyes of Naruto and Maiko's apologetic eyes.

They stood out the most, seeing as how a sea of scared and sorry eyes were all stuck to him. "I don't want to see Anzai." Sasuke shuddered even more and stared at the food on his plate and surprisingly stuffed it all down no matter the raunchy taste that made his squirm in his seat. "I need to get out of this."

"You can't, Sasuke.." Naruto whispered before he picked up his empty tray, threw it on the rack and stormed out of the hall, slamming the doors in a dramatic exit. Of course he was followed by the nuns as if they were starved feral dogs chasing him for their next meal. Sasuke turned back to Maiko.

She shrugged and stood up. "Good luck Sasuke, you'll need it."

Well he didn't expect them to do anything about it and they obviously knew what was going to happen so Sasuke didn't hold a grudge against them for not saying words of comfort. He watched as Maiko placed her tray on the large silver rack and through the doors towards the common room. Sasuke let go of the silver fork his held between his fingers which clanged upon the tray and stood up, he could already feel tremors wracking his body. He hadn't been this terrified since he saw his parents dead on the floor before him. He stepped out from the table and slowly slid his tray onto the rack and turned towards the door.

The nun motioned for him and opened the door, revealing the long hallway that could be leading him to his fate. Maybe this laboratory was the last place he'd visit again. Was Anzai going to test his eyes? He gulped. There were a lot of mental children here at Mothers Nest, maybe they were all lying to him and building up his fear as some sort of joke. Yet Anzai was rude to him the night the massacre had happened. "What is Anzai going to do to me?" Sasuke sputtered out in a rushed mess, covering his mouth with his hands after he realized what he had said to the woman. He nervously looked up at the woman.

"He's just going to administer your medication is all." Somehow Sasuke didn't believe a word that came out of her wrinkled mouth.

He stood in front of the large metal door that separated him from the devil himself. It was locked so the nun had to tap her fingers on the cold hard surface three times with her bony knuckle. It sounded like something was placed hurriedly onto a surface inside and loud footsteps approached the door eerily. Two large sounds that he could only think were locks on the door rang through the hallway and the door opened a crack, revealing Anzai's beady eye.

"About time!" He bit out as the door opened fully, revealing the man in a long white lab coat with a strange mixture splattered all over him. "Now get inside, I've been waiting for a full hour!"

He slammed the door in the woman's face and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little grateful for that.

"Alright Uchiha. I've received Soma's report on you. Sit down." He motioned to the tightly bound black leather chair in front of his desk off into the corner. He had to oblige. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. And that's it?" He aimlessly flipped through the few pages that belonged to Sasuke's file. "I don't believe that. Are you trying to pull strings to get out of here?:

He eyeballed him with those distressing eyes. "No sir."

Anzai tossed the file onto his desk and strode over to the other side of the room, his lab coat clad back facing Sasuke. If Sasuke wanted he could take that old relic of a sword that was hung on the high up plaque on the wall across from him and stab him through the heart. He'd leave that for after Anzai lays a hand on him, for now, he wouldn't have evidence that it would be self defense.

"You're being administered a low dosage of anti-depressants and if they show no signs of working we're upping the ante." He announced as he swiveled around with a small snow white bottle clutched in his hand. He paced over to a half empty water cooler and poured a small amount into a plastic green cup. "Every morning, afternoon, and evening. You got that? I'll inform the orderlies."

Sasuke took the cup from him then hesitantly accepted the two small red capsules into the palm of his hand. He stared at them for a moment before plopping them into his mouth and taking a swig of water. He didn't quite like pills, they felt odd.

"If you and that psychiatrist are planning to get this place checked out by the Hokage I'll have her removed from her position in the blink of an eye." Anzai threatened him with nostrils flaring and beady eyes hidden behind the gleam of his glasses. "Now get out, I have work to do."

Sasuke slammed the cup down onto the desk and practically raced out of the room, his heart beating a mile a minute. He wasn't harmed! There were no bruises on his body,_ no evidence_. It made him want to jump up with giddy child like joy that he was unscathed but he wanted to provide evidence to Soma - what was his bruised body compared to having this place shut down which would ultimately lead to a better life?

His sandal clad feet slapped against the tiled floor, passing by the faded and peeled wallpaper that hugged the walls. He had to tell Maiko and Naruto that they hadn't laid a hand on him. He peeked into the common room and found them sitting on the couch by the window.

"S-Sasuke!" Maiko had gasped as the two children stood up to get a better look at the Uchiha. Not even a scratch on his porcelain skin. No track mark on his wrist. "What happened in there!?"

"Yeah, you better tell us your secret!" Naruto blurted with a grin that Sasuke failed to see every day. It was a rare occurrence. They all took a seat to get their fill on his story.

"He asked me if I was planning on pulling strings to get out of here.. Then he showed me the pills I had to take, I took the pills with water, then he threatened that he'll have Soma removed from her position if we _try_ something."

"Tch - what a cheap bastard! He does all this shit to us but you get away scott free!" Naruto huffed as he leaned back against the couch.

Maiko swatted near his face. "We can take this as a good thing, Naruto. Or, a really bad thing."

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled mostly to himself. _Bad thing my ass_.

The day passed by without a hitch. Sasuke kept taking his medications from the nuns as he was told, went for his normal nap (thought he never slept, he wrote), and ate the food that was provided to him. He thought to himself that maybe it was the pills that calmed him down about his daily routine.

That was until the next day when he was called to Doctor Anzai's office immediately.

He had no further business with Anzai, Sasuke swore it to himself as he hesitantly strode down the hallway. He was taking his medication, he was being a good boy! He hadn't spoken with Soma since so there was no way Anzai figured out Soma wanted to help the children...

The door mysteriously swung open, ready for Sasuke to enter. A hand sprung out from between the crack of the doorway and latched onto his shoulder with immense strength. "Augh!" Sasuke gasped as he tried to fight off the hand and when he found his attempts to fail, he held onto the doorway with all the strength an eight year old Uchiha had until the nails dug deep into his skin. His body disappeared from the hallway as the door slammed shut.

* * *

_Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews! Keep reviewing ! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_


	5. Chapter 5

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 5: In Cold Blood_

* * *

The large hand that gripped his wrist tightly and threw him to the other room belonged to non other than Anzai.

Sasuke should have known. He fell to the floor with a hushed yelp but he gathered himself up in a quick manor, taking his stand in the corner of the room with angry coal eyes. He watched in absolute horror as Anzai had to use his muscles to set the metal lock of the door in place, turning back to face the young boy.

"What do you want!?" Sasuke spat while his hands roamed behind him to feel for the wall, he needed something to lean on or he felt like he was going to faint. Anzai took a step forward and Sasuke stepped backwards defensively.

"You lied to me, Uchiha." Anzai tittered to himself as he slowly took two steps to the side with his hands folded behind his back. "And that's not a good thing to do, to cross me. I was sure the other children would have informed you." His head snapped to the side to glance at Sasuke. "I have a very ill temper."

Sasuke's chest slowly rose and fell. Wouldn't the nuns have seen him being practically dragged into the mans laboratory? Though, would they even care? "..." He felt like he didn't have a response to that statement, even though he could be groveling at the mans polished black shoes for his dear life.

The mans large calloused hands wrapped around a brass doorknob behind him and the loud creaking sound of rusty hinges filled his ears. His heart raced faster as if it were a race car. The room was black but Anzai took a step inside, weary to not turn his back on the boy. He grabbed something and pushed it forward, into the fluorescent lights that buzzed above.

He felt a knot in his throat grow and grow until Sasuke choked on his saliva for any air he could get. The back of his eyes began to sting and he knew if he didn't tough it up he would begin to cry.

Dr. Soma fell to her knees with violet shudders that racked her petite frame. "Doctor Soma!" Sasuke cried and and took a hesitant step forward but she immediately shook her head at him. Her mouth was gagged with a dirty beige rag and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Her wrists were bound behind her back and her ankles were cuffed together. Her normally pristine grey suit was dirty with blood and grime from the floor of the storage cabinet she was locked in. "What are you doing with her?!"

"Again, young man, you lied to me. I don't want to repeat myself again." He hissed like a snake as his shoes tapped until he stood behind Soma. "She came around here questioning my line of practice. I have been at this game for many years now, probably longer than she has ever been alive. How old are you, Eri? I'd say possibly early thirties. Yes, I've been doing my work for approximately thirty six years and I know what I. Am. Doing."

"I-.." Only a petty stammer escaped his lips as this ranked second on his list of the most terrifying things he's ever experienced. "We didn't mean-"

With a raised arm Anzai slapped the back of his wrist against the back of her head, sending her form to the unswept floor. He didn't allow the orderlies into his lab. "You meant everything you schemed! You're just like the rest of your clan!" He reached into the deep space of his lab coat's pocket and pulled out a shiny metallic looking thing Sasuke only remembered a little bit back from when he visited his father in the Police HQ..

"A gun! You can't use that!" Sasuke shook his head and felt a hot stinging wetness in the corner of his eyelids. "They're only meant for the worst of situations!"

"The son of the head of Konoha's military police would know that, but you see, this is a bad situation. You tried to rid me of my job and to me, my job is my only great asset." He pulled out small shiny bullets from the other pocket and began lining them up one by one in the circular chamber. Soma's muffled sobs filled the silence as the boy watched in horror and as Anzai finished loading his handgun.

"Please! Just let her go! It was me that was asking for her help, it was all me!"

"Well she's seen so much already... You see these metal walls I have lined through my lab? Yes, they make it all soundproof here.."

He lined the tip of the gun to the back of her head as her cries for help behind the rag grew louder. "Please...!"

_Bang._

"They wont believe you if you try to tell the orderlies." His voice cut through the emptiness that followed after the loudest thing that he ever heard and after he had dropped to his knees. "I have something lined up for you, Uchiha. Apparently all through the lands, Doctors are testing a new remedy to relieve patients of unwanted memories or mental illnesses. Electroshock therapy. If you would, get up on the table."

Unlistening to the man in front of him, Sasuke's dripping eyes stared at the lifeless body of the one woman in this place that gave him hope to leave this place. A pool of thick bright red blood poured out like the small fountain at the small park in the Uchiha district. He felt a huge tug on the back of his shirt and her was forced to the other side of the room toward the table that sat so menacingly underneath the hanging medical fluorescent light.

Even though his had Soma's blood on the bottom of his sandals and a streak on his knee, he didn't care and hopped up onto the uncovered metal deathbed. Hell, he didn't even care if tears were streaming down his sour looking face. Anzai appeared in front of him with a metal looking contraption that he fitted over Sasuke's head. "Just kill me." Just as sour as the look on his face, his voice was laced with as much hate he could muster, thinking of both Itachi and Anzai.

Anzai's chuckles were muffled as she briskly turned to a black machine that looking like a box and flipped a switch upwards, earning a bright green light. "I'm going to strap you in now." He stated and did just that, strapping Sasuke tightly to the metal slab. He pressed in a red button and grinned as Sasuke's agony and pain filled screamed filled the soundproofed room.

"Uuuhhhg." He moaned as his head lolled from side to side, orderlies had his arms outstretched as they helped him walk into the common room. He didn't understand why his head felt like he had fallen from a ten story building and landed head first onto the concrete. The areas on the side of his face also hurt, like a painful sunburn, or the time when he had learned the fireball jutsu and burned the area around his mouth. "Whaat happened..?" He slurred as the two helped him sit down on his usual couch and from the corner of his eyes he saw two children running towards him. _Maiko and Naruto_.

"You needed treatment, that's all, Sasuke." The woman said as she and her male subordinate backed away and left the children filled room. He laid his head back and felt the space on both sides of him on the couch sink down with weight.

All he could remember was that something bad happened to someone he knew, but it wasn't Maiko nor Naruto because they were chirping his name worriedly in his ears and shaking his shoulders. He didn't want them to be hurt as well.

Naruto tapped his fingers against his knee as he continued to not get a response from his frazzled friend. "What the hell did they do to him?"

"I don't know..." Maiko confessed as she continued to stare at the red marks on the side of his face. "It looks like he's burned here.." She gently touched her fingers to the red skin on his face. She placed the back of her hand to his forehead. "I think he needs to be in his own room and our time here isn't done for a while. We need to take him there."

"Take him there? As in up the stairs, past the orderlies, and hoping there's not a nun in the dorm!? Are you nuts!"

"I thought you liked crossing their rules Naruto."

He grimaced. "You know how to talk me into everything. I'll go do the thing." He stood up and clapped his hands together, giving her a thumbs up before he left to the other side of the room. Kneeling beside the mass of children, Naruto cupped his hands to one older childs ear. "We need to distract the orderlies for like, ten minutes, can you do that!?"

"Yeah, sure Naruto!" He grimaced and raised his hand to salute the blonde then crawling over to his mass of friends and whispering the same thing he had just heard. Smiling deviously to himself, Naruto scampered right back to his friends on the worn corduroy couch and sat down, watching the kids with eyes like a hawk.

Maiko, still resting her hand over Sasuke's, watched the children as well because knowing them, they always had new schemes to get the orderlies attention. It was their only real form of entertainment except for the one holiday movie they got around December time.

They huddled together mischievously with their arms around each others backs and their heads down low. To Naruto and Maiko's surprise, one child let out an absolutely bloodcurdling scream that chilled those unsuspecting's spines. The scream was long and from the bottom of their stomach, beginning to grow raspy and strained. "Help help!" The same child that had scream burst from the mass of kids with a horrified facade that only made the two on the couch grimace. They had a great group of actors here.

The orderlies heads snapped to the side of the room where the children all screamed and backed away from one specific child who was violently convulsing on the dusty floor. "Oh - it's Jun." Naruto laughed and turned to look at Maiko who just smiled. Jun was diagnosed with Epilepsy when he was brought to Mothers Nest at a young age and suffered from Grand Mal seizures. Either he was actually having a serious seizure or this was just part of the children elaborate plans.

Orderlies that were overseeing the children in the common room rushed over to their sides because they knew how to handle these seizures, yet they still called for extra help. Through the doors, more nuns and orderlies rushed in to either give a hand or to view the spectacle. "We have to go now Naruto!" Maiko hushed and quickly threw Sasuke's arm over his shoulder while Naruto copied her actions. All they had to do was to rush out the door, climb to the second floor and hope there wasn't a nun watching over the empty dorm.

"Let's go." Naruto whispered and they quickly rushed towards the wide open wooden swing doors towards the large circular room. Naruto received and gave a few understanding nods to a cluster of 'frightened' children. Even though if the orderlies found out Jun's Grand Mal was fake, all the children would take the blame.

As Sasuke fought to keep his head up, sleepiness and pain tried to lull him into the dream world. He still wasn't fully conscious yet he was moving without _actually_ moving. His eyes opened then reduced to slivers when the bright light hit his orbs. "Uuhhg." He groaned when his head lolled to the side. He could feel his brain convulsing and it _hurt_. "Whh."

He could hear his friends voices whisper at both sides of his head. Something about the stairs. He didn't quite make it out though because he could hardly focus on anything but the bewildering pain he felt. He was being awkwardly handled now, he could tell. One side of him would be gently pulled up then the next and so on and so forth. This continued for a little while longer until two loud heavy sighs sounded.

"Finally." Maiko rasped, using her free arm to wipe the few sprinkles of sweat that dotted her forehead.

Naruto continued on without her, gently throwing Sasuke over his shoulder. He glanced down the boys dorm hallway and noted the nuns large rocking chair was empty. Their dorm was empty! "Look Maiko, no nun!" He straightened his back and gallivanted into the dorm until he reached Sasuke's slightly ajar door.

"Don't be so loud Naruto - if we're found we'll be in trouble for many different accounts."

"Whatever." Naruto gently laid Sasuke down on his thin mattress and stared at him for a second. He looked rough. "He needs more bedding Maiko!"

"Shh!" She cupped her hand over his mouth while her face grew serious. "Distracting the orderlies, leaving the common room when it wasn't time, using the stairwell without permission, me being inside the boys dormitory, and now taking more bedding without permission.. Think about it. We can't be caught."

She left for a moment to a small closet near the nuns rocking chair. Luckily these closets weren't locked, she she gingerly opened it and reached her arms over a large blanket and a surprisingly newish fitted sheet. When she walked back in she threw the fitted sheet into the corner and let the blanket roll out in front of her. "Help me unfold this.."

With Naruto's help they unfolded the large grey duvet which was a rare thing around Mothers Nest. "I wish we got duvets." She sighed and sat at the end of Sasuke's bed and twiddled her thumbs absentmindedly. "I'm still pretty curious as to what happened to him."

"He came from Anzai. So it's bad."

* * *

_Wow that got dark quick, eh? _

_**Sorry** for the delay, but it's my last year in HS and my teachers decided to give me a lot of essays and projects before winter so I've been down in the dumps about it. I'm not sure if you can tell from the way I wrote this chapter, but it may not be up to par with my previous chapters. What do you think is gonna happen in the next chapters?! I'd love to know! Review review review!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _


	6. Chapter 6

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 6: Gun_

* * *

It was hard to fall asleep when you're head was pounding. Pounding, yet it changed it's pace from slow irregular beats to fast beats like the fast galloping of a horse. _That's it. There's a horse in my head_. Not only was the pain rapping on his skull, but the meds he guessed he was forced to take made his thoughts in his brain very very odd. His body was numb yet tingly and he could feel the corner of his mouth well up with a tad of drool. He didn't want to drool but he had absolutely no control over his limbs.

However, the lights in his room weren't as bright as they were earlier on when he was in the common room, so he let his eyes slowly open. The very first thing he saw were a pair of dull green orbs and a gentle smile that he could recognize. He would have smiled back but he still had a lingering feeling that something bad happened to him. He felt a small warm squeeze on his right hand and the girl in front of him looked over his shoulder.

"Hey Naruto." Her voice was so soft compared to the harsh pounding noises that rattled his brain. "He's coming to."

Sasuke peered down and saw the blonde guarding the doorway to his room, even though he could have just closed the door, but he knew Naruto well and Naruto was the type who'd want to guard and give immediate warning if someone was coming. Naruto took a seat on the other side of his bed and grinned when he looked down at Sasuke.

"You're in rough shape Sasuke, what the hell happened to you?"

_I can't tell you because I don't even know myself_. He would have said to Naruto but he couldn't even open his mouth. He did not want to frighten them though - so he refrained from even trying to tell them what he thought had happened. _Anzai.. Anzai... What about Anzai_?

"How are you feeling Sasuke? Can you move? Can you speak" Maiko tilted her head.

Nothing. He would have shook his head yet it pained him too much to do such a thing. _Wait Maiko, you'll be in trouble if you're in the boys dorm. What's going on_? She gently squeezed his hand again but he didn't respond. His eyes just darted between the two of them and his brows ever so slightly furrowed with emotion. _You both should get out of here_.

"Get him some water." Maiko said in that sing song voice, looking at Naruto with pleading eyes. Their voices were soothing to his ears, surprisingly even Naruto rough and grouchy sounding voice. Their was a lingering voice in the back of his head that called to him but he couldn't recognize it anymore. Another voice soothed to him gently, the soft and tender voice from his mothers lips. He'd imagine her sitting at the side of his bed with the back of her hand pressed gently to his forehead.

"_Sasuke! You've gone and gotten yourself sick! I've told you to wear your jacket in this chilly weather.._"

Sasuke's lips were tugged into a small smile at the memory but his mothers face vanished into thin air when Naruto's voice cut through the atmosphere.

"Yeah I'll get him water." The boy nodded and turned towards the door.

"Get the water from the bathroom tap - it's the best." Maiko's voice sounded again and Naruto merely waved her off as he stepped into the hallway energetically. In a flash the boy took hesitant steps back into Sasuke's room, a shadowed figure looming over their heads.

"And what do you three think you're doing?!" A nun had barked with wild looking eyes. It seemed she was so angry she'd start foaming at the mouth at any second.

Maiko gasped and practically slid off the side of his bed and stood straight alongside Naruto's rigid body. Sasuke was too dazed off, high on meds and washed away in a river of pain to even think of standing in attention. Though he did feel like he couldn't leave them to bear the consequences of whatever they did wrong just because of him... He groaned inwardly as he tried to sit up beneath the heavy duvet that had magically appeared and he could already feel sweat beading on his forehead.

"What's wrong with Uchiha?" The woman picked up her long back dress and marched over beside Sasuke, imitating his mother and Maiko by pressing her hand to his forehead. "Was this your two's doing?"

"No Ma'am, after -"

"You think we'd do that to him!? We had to bring him to his room because you guys didn't notice how messed up he was after Anzai!" The blonde bit out with crossed arms, his face contorted into a angrily sour looking one. Maiko furiously tugged at his sleeve to make him shut his mouth mid sentence but he was on a rampage - he'd just about had enough of these people! "It was all my doing, he would have passed out on the floor if we didn't do anything about it!"

"Naruto." Maiko whispered crossly as she clenched her thin fingers around his sleeve once more. "You can't take the full blame! We had an _agreement_!" Her words were left hanging. Naruto was a strong one, she'd give him that. Her heart; however, told her to tell the woman that it wasn't just her blonde companion that schemed this entire ordeal but her head stated otherwise. She knew if she did that Naruto would be angry with her for a while. So for now she let her hand drop and her glossy green eyes rose to meet the older woman's murky brown eyes.

"Then what about you, Shima, in the boys dormitory!? That's one of our biggest rules! Naruto cannot take responsibility for _your_ actions, now can he?"

"No Ma'am, he can't. I know I shouldn't be in the boys dorm, especially without an orderly present. But it's not like we were going to do anything like _that_-"

"-because we _are_ eight and nine," Naruto just had to put his two cents in.

"- yes, that, and because Sasuke would not have done well if we didn't take him up here to rest."

"Uzumaki, you're in a great deal of trouble young man. You too Shima. To the office!"

The two children nodded and began to make their way to the large metal door when they both looked back and exchanged glances with their frazzled friend.

Sasuke's heart ached even more than he was beginning to get used to. They were in trouble because of something that happened to him? He mentally shook his head but his body acted on his own and snuggled deeper into the cozy duvet he guessed they retrieved for him. He thought maybe after a good nights rest he'd feel a little bit better.

-OOO-

Back in the Uchiha manor the young boy would wake up early after training at the academy in his bed, feeling groggy and sore everywhere, hearing his mother call his name for breakfast. He'd pry himself out of bed only to feel a wave of happiness when he saw the faces of his family, his father, his mother, and Itachi who was getting ready for a mission.

He woke up with a feeling that wasn't groggy, it was something much worse. His head still felt achey and woozy and his body screamed at him for even moving the slightest inch but his stomach begged him to sit up and make his way down for breakfast. _What the hell happened to me_... He dipped his face into the softness of his hands and rubbed his face to try and wake up fully but he regretted it fully. The sides of his face were burnt for some reason and not even the faintest memory surfaced about where they came from.

Shaking it off as unimportant at the moment, the young boy slowly swung his legs off the side of his bed and placed the soft pads of his feet down on the freezing floor. As is body was overheated from being immensely sick it was a refreshing wave to have an icy chill running through your body. Once his feet grew accustomed to the coldness, he swiped them along the floor to find his sandals and his toes found one, slinking into the hole and pushing his foot into place. He had the faintest memory of Maiko and Naruto getting in trouble the night before, so before he was going to get breakfast he wanted to see if they were alright - though another thought came to mind.

He had a nagging feeling in his head that he needed to stray away from close bonds with anybody in this place. _Harm will come to those you're close to_. A dark and sinister voice told him in the back of his head - and it surely did not belong to him.

Once his left sandal was on he hopped out from his bed and mustered enough energy to walk over to the door. He poked his had out of the door that was left ajar from the nun he presumed screamed at him to wake up earlier and pulled it open so his slim body would slide through the crack. The halls of the boys 7-12 dorm were empty. Maybe they'd given him a break and let him sleep longer because he wasn't in the greatest of shape. He shrugged it off and lazily made his way down the hellish circular stairs. The dull murmur of children filled his ears when he closed in on the cafeteria and he could already feel a slight ache budding in his head.

_I just need to get food and rest_. He repeated it in his head until he paced cautiously through the cafe and gotten himself breakfast. 5 ounces of plain mushy oatmeal porridge and three quarters of a cup of milk. It wasn't like the filling delicious meals his mother would serve but to quench his hunger it would do. He found an empty corner of a long table and sat down quietly, hoping Maiko and Naruto had not seen him enter. Sasuke pushed the food around in the small steel bowl before he took a mouthful of it. Sure he was accustomed to the taste but to keep himself from hurling he _had_ to wash it down with the skim milk they provided.

Placing the plastic translucent cup back on the table to the right of his plate, two bodies took the empty spaces in front of him and he knew exactly who they belonged to.

The blonde waved his hand in front of Sasuke's face with a quizzical look plastered on his blanched and bruised face. "Hey! Sasuke? You're up! How are you feeling?! Boy, last night you couldn't even talk!"

He lifted his gaze off his plate to meet the battered down blue and green eyes of Maiko and Naruto. Physically, they looked uninjured. But that was only from the skin he could see - their faces, neck, and uncovered arms. It could be that the orderlies did not harm them where the eyes could see.

"What did they do to you last night." His voice was raspy and sounded unhinged and he was slightly embarrassed to appear in such a way before them since they've endured much more than him but he needed to get this off his mind if he wanted to successfully train later today. Plus, he'd feel guilty if they had gotten hurt for his sake..

Maiko raised a brow but didn't object to his ignoring of Naruto's question. "The usual punishment for breaking rules. Being slapped on the arm with a meter stick then being sent to solitary confinement... But what is it that happened to you?"

He took another small mouthful then took a swig of his skim milk. He resisted the urge to make a sour face because he absolutely hated the taste of skim milk - but barely anybody in Konoha invested their money on skim milk, so it made the product cheaper to buy and therefore, was the only dairy product Mothers Nest would buy.

"I don't know." He stated simply and quickly took another mouthful and yet another sip. He wanted to finish and get to the common room so he could gather his bearings and find out what actually happened to him himself.

"How can you not remember-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Apparently cutting Naruto off made him shut up pretty fast.

He thanked his lucky stars at that moment because his bowl of oatmeal porridge was completely gone and his milk was reduced to a small drop. Pushing himself away from the table, Sasuke made his way to the large rack and shoved his tray into an empty slot. He didn't want to displease or anger the people that had been nice to him from the start but it was nicer to not let them come closer to harm.

-OOO-

As the weeks passed Sasuke had finally come to terms with growing apart from Maiko and Naruto, even though he wished his had the natural companionship he desired. They'd gradually accepted the fact that he was under a deal of 'stress' and steered clear from him and even went to great lengths to make sure they weren't near him. Although it hurt him in the end, he mentally thanked them for the 'support.'

Since three weeks had passed since his alleged sickness, a man had finally shown his face in the common room where Sasuke was sitting by himself on the corduroy couch. The man took a brisk step into the children filled room and propped his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, his neck craning around like a hawk out for prey. Sasuke's eyes were glued to the small fraction of the outdoors he could see from a cracked piece of window when his ears perked to the sound of the doors opening.

He laid his eyes on Anzai and felt a pang of regular hatred for the man. The last time he had seen him was when... His head ached for a moment when he tried to remember... Ah - when he had to get his prescription medicine from him, whenever that was.

Anzai's head turned his way and Sasuke swore he saw a slight grimace on that mans face. His brows twitched and he angrily looked back out the small crack, the he heard a slight chuckle then the doors closed back up._ Why is my head hurting_? The mans face was imprinted in his eyes - his beady black eyes stared at him from behind the small squares of glass.

A thought flashed in his mind for a split second - the image of the Military Police headquarters, and the face of his father... When he had visited the HQ and looked around... What is it he's trying to remember? He was walking down the halls with Itachi by his side and he had seen a high ranking guard with a mechanism attached to his back.. He tugged at Itachi's sleeve and questioned what that was.

_'It's a gun, Sasuke. They're not available to the public and are only to be used in dire circumstances. They shoot a small metal bullet..'_

A gun._ Why am I remembering a gun_? He tapped his chin and sunk deeper into his thoughts. _They shoot a small metal bullet. Don't they also make a loud noise, like when I visited the shooting range beneath the ground level of the HQ?' _**Bang bang bang. **The men held the small hand gun in their large calloused fists and aimed it directly at the blank printed out faces a few yards away. The blank printed out pictures of blank bodies began to whimper, and it sounded to Sasuke like the sobbing of a woman.

His body grew cold. _Bang bang bang_.. He held his fingers out in the shape of a gun and ran through the memories again, there was something he was missing. The black printed faces still sounded like women that were begging for their lives. The men that were practicing at the shooting range began to morph into something they were not - and it was no jutsu, it was something in his mind. Their black bulletproof vests and deep blue clothing underneath became a bleached white lab coat.. Their different colored hair became the hair with peppered white patches of hair that made the man look a little bit more than middle aged.

The man turned and looked directly in his eyes - those black beady eyes with black colored glasses.

Suddenly Sasuke gasped - as he had remembered everything that occurred three weeks ago.

* * *

_More darkness to go with a dark plot line. :) Merry holidays and merry break time to those people that don't celebrate._

_Review!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Mothers Nest_

_Chapter 7: History_

* * *

In the split moment that Sasuke remembered what had happened three weeks ago, Anzai had paced out of the common room nonchalantly. All this time he had been fighting himself over the non proven feeling he had lingering in the back of his mind about the danger that was dwelling around him and those around him when he had all the reason to cut those ties. Anzai murdered Dr. Soma in his laboratory that fateful day without even a hint of hesitation in his beady black eyes - the same eyes Sasuke feared now, eyes that would look down at the dead bodies of the children of Mothers Nest.

His body was frigid with the image of her body dead on the floor in front of him but his eyes darted across the room to the opposite couch where they sat. They were aware of the torture that happened within this place on a regular basis and he was sure they were more or less comfortable with their positions here. But were they aware that they had a murderer on the loose, rather than a fame seeking mad man? Maiko and Naruto sat so unknowingly of the atrocious act that was committed a few weeks ago, not knowing that their affiliation with him could end up endangering their lives. As his nails dug into the soft worn fabric of his couch Sasuke debated whether or not to tell them about what happened to him. They were already on a not talking basis yet he felt like he owed them a petty explanation as to why he alienated himself from the rest of the group.

He swallowed thickly and shook his head slightly - he'd have to tell them, it was the right thing to do. They had afternoon training in about twenty-ish minutes, judging by the dust covered clock above the wall. That was the only time he could tell them without being surrounded by other children like at lunch and dinner time. In the meantime he'd bide his time by thinking about the whole ordeal he went through. He'd been curious as to why he hadn't seen Soma in three weeks but he never questioned her judgement, thinking she had other patients and personal business to attend to instead of speaking with him. She was dead now because of her fruitless attempt to help him and only the Gods knew where her body was, so Sasuke guessed even after death she wasn't respected.

"Alright children, Kaori has gotten sick everywhere so we are to leave the common room silently to the backyard for afternoon training." A nun had called out to the room as she stood to hide the sick child behind her who had emptied her stomach all over the edge of the couch and onto the dirty tiled floor. The other children scampered away from her and crowded at the door to hurry and get to the backyard.

Snapped out of his personal moment, Sasuke gazed up when the doors had been unlocked and the kids spilled out and rushed to the back exit. Maiko and Naruto lazily walked out of the exit together, looking as if they weren't excited for training when Sasuke inwardly knew they were always excited to train. Naruto loved to train because he had a wild dream of becoming the Hokage of their village someday although the orderlies always trampled all of the idea with their noses held high. Maiko was always excited to train but never really seemed to like the _actual_ training, just being outdoors was enough for her.

He managed to force his rock solid muscles to move so he too could stand up and make his way to the backyard to spill the beans to the two. He was quickly ushered through the doors out of the common room by a nun and his curiosity got the better of him. "Where is Doctor Soma? I haven't seen her in three weeks." Perhaps they were curious about her disappearance.

As she locked the doors to the common room, making sure the cleaning crew entered through the other doors, she looked down at the boy. "I don't know Uchiha, haven't seen her in a while. But if she isn't interrupting our schedule then I think it's for the best!"

Grumbling to himself, Sasuke walked down the hall and turned towards the last hall where the exit to the yard was. Placing his hands against the wooden swing door, he pushed it open to greet the wonderful fresh air that smelled sweetly of the dew that hung to the small blades of grass. It was a good change from the old smelling dust they were all used to. It was lightly sprinkling when he stepped out of the hall and into the yard and it sent refreshing shivers down his spine. The hall had an awkward room temperature, it was cold, yet it wasn't cold enough to complain about it - so the little cold sprinkles that dotted his exposed skin made him feel better.

Maiko and Naruto were the first faces that stood out to him, underneath the protection of the leaves from the rain. The children were all crowded around a man that worked with Mothers Nest who taught them the different starter jutsu's and tricks and tips they needed to learn just as Konoha's academy did. Naruto would have been listening to the lecture if it wasn't for the fact that it was a review and he hated review's and that he wasn't too keen on getting wet as the other kids were. Maiko just didn't care about the lesson.

Sasuke paced through the wet grass, feeling the wetness hit his exposed toes as he trampled through. Maiko's green eyes witnessed his face approaching first as she turned her head, then Naruto cocked his head to the side and exchanged a glance with the Uchiha. Sasuke wasn't too sure if they'd even speak to him anymore after just leaving them in the dust but he had to try.

He stood in front of them for a moment before beginning to speak, which they did not object to. "I.. I remember what happened to me three weeks ago."

The blonde and the brunette both raised their brows and Maiko piped up. "What was it, Sasuke?"

"Anzai.." Sasuke gulped and noticed a slight tinge in Maiko's expression. "He drug me into his room and locked the door and pulled out Doctor Soma from his closet. She was gagged and tied up and crying.. Then Anzai was angry because she wanted to help us and.. Shot her."

"Shot her?!" Naruto burst out with an almost intimidating step forward, his eyes immediately changing from his normal beaten half-serene look to flaring anger in a split second. Eyes turned to him but in the heat of the moment Naruto stomped elsewhere beyond the trees to cool off.

When Maiko looked back to Sasuke, her face was hard looking as a rock. "Anzai shot her with a gun?" He nodded. "In front of you? What did he do to you after - I mean, you forgot for three weeks!"

"Electro something... It went onto the sides of my head and I barely remember the pain. It's why the sides of my face were burnt for a week."

"Oh that makes sense. Another stupid thing these medical specialists are trying to make to improve the quality of patient treatment." She crossed her arms over her chest and let her glazed over forest green eyes lay upon the scenery of the still living trees. To Sasuke she looked as if she wandered off into far away thought when her body only slightly moved when her chest rose up and down when she breathed in. The rain pelleted down onto the top of her hair and (usually) she would flinch and find a larger branch with denser leaves to keep her head dry but in this moment she stood still, letting her dress and cardigan begin to let the water seep in.

"I get it now. Why you stopped talking to us." She spoke after a few minutes of understanding silence between the two and looked at his face once more. "It makes sense."

He nodded and when the two heard the snapping of branches they instantly knew Naruto was coming back their direction. Their heads snapped to the sides and Naruto's blonde hair was seen between two dark colored tree trunks, there was no mistaking it was him. He huffed and puffed until he climbed through the bush and stomped over to the two. He was covered in dirt which ran down his cheeks, arms, and legs in brown streaks from the now pouring rain mixed in with blood from sliced open cuts on his knuckles and a few lining his forearm. His eyes dangerously darkened and his usual funny guy tone was apparently lost in the bush.

"He _shot_ her?" He almost growled with shaking fists that still remained at his sides, though it was evident he still needed to let off steam and the bush clearly didn't help. He breathed noisily from his nose while he looked between the two.

"Yes."

"Naruto you want to be Hokage so bad one day, you need to train - plus let off that steam. If you come back inside like that you'll get in trouble." Maiko jerked her head to the side, motioning to the group of children and young teens who were all vigilantly training. When Naruto side and agreed with her statement she looked at Sasuke once more. "You too."

Sasuke gave her a curt nod before pacing off toward the group, leaving Maiko underneath the tree to think to herself quietly.

-OOO-

He still wanted to remain distant but Sasuke still had curiosity. "Maiko, why is it you don't train with the group? I thought you of all people would want to be a shinobi so you wouldn't be tied to this place as much." They filed in through the door with their clothes soaked through and their hair sticking to their face with perspiration and precipitation.

She shrugged gently to herself and looked at him almost sheepishly. "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'd rather heal the wounded than create the wounded. They don't offer practice in healing here since they want all medical injuries sustained to us going through their system rather then being healed immediately. So I just wait for you two to finish."

"You'd be a damned good fighter if you actually trained with us!" Naruto piped in with his tanned whisker clad face popping over her face as they all began to walk to the circular room to make their ways to the dorms for their afternoon 'nap.' "Plus, the orderlies even said that you had the best chakra reserves and that chakra absorption technique, which I think having both is unfair, eh." He poked and prodded her arms as they began to climb the stairs with a cheeky looking expression on his face.

"That's most likely why my parents married each other even though both their families don't bode well with each other." She laughed at the two boys gently as they reached the top of the stairs and nudged them both towards their door with her shoulder. "Go get a nap after your diligent training." She whirled around and followed the rest of the 7-12 girls into their dorms behind the pink painted door. The boys watched her left and as the last girl rushed into the door, Sasuke glanced at Naruto.

"What made her end up... Here." Sasuke motioned around the dingy creaky place with a sour look on his face that Naruto understood as 'she doesn't deserve to be here.'

"Her mum and dads clans have always fought, like waaaay back before she was even born. The Shima's and Ikeda's just naturally hated each other, and one clan had amazing chakra reserves and the other had a great technique that let them steal peoples chakra. So her parents thought 'naturally' they should mate and their kids would have the reserves and techniques. So secretly they wed, got busy, had kids, and when I say secretly I mean seecretly, like they lived out in the country to stay away from their families. One thing led to another and both clans found out about their marriage, so they geared up 'n' all began fighting each other. Her parents were killed in the process and ever since both sides of the family wont take her or her siblings in!"

"That's... Horrible."

"Right?! So her and her siblings were all separated to different orphanages and that's that." The mood shifted into a heavily depressing one and the boys' heads hung low. They didn't want to admit to each other that speaking of Maiko's family made them think of their own family, and in Naruto's case, the lack of family. They parted ways after they drug their feet into their respected dorms and laid their heads to a not so peaceful sleep.

* * *

_Sorry that updates are kinda slow, new year = more work in school. Thank you guys so so SO much for the revews! :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!_


End file.
